


It's Time

by Writingwife83



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Implied/Referenced Character Death, and I'm a shipper so...lol, because I HC Mary as a shipper, mentions of sherlolly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 20:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12043794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writingwife83/pseuds/Writingwife83
Summary: John hopes he's making the right decision as he prepares to share something emotional with his now sixteen year old daughter Rosie.





	It's Time

**Author's Note:**

> I kept thinking about this in connection with the fact that Mary left not one, but two DVD messages for the people she left behind. Somehow I can't imagine that she wouldn't do this as well. Enjoy the feels! (And the sprinkling of shippy stuff)

John sighed, running hands over his tired eyes before looking over at Mary again.

“I can’t help feeling like I’d rather it was up to you,” he said with a little shrug. “Doesn’t feel like it should be my decision.”

Mary smiled kindly. “I know...I know. But, John, I do trust you to decide. If you think now is a good time, then I’m sure it is.”

“It’s been sort of hard for me to say,” he went on, trailing fingers through his short hair. “I suppose I don’t even know exactly what I’m presenting her with, though I can guess what some of it may be. I didn’t want to do it when she was really young. Thought it might be too painful and confusing. But she is sixteen now, so…”

“I’m sure you’ve picked the right time,” Mary told him, her tone reassuring. “She’s your daughter too, and you know her.”

“Right, I know,” he agreed, nodding. “It’s just- it’s still hard sometimes...making these decisions and figuring things out. Maybe it shouldn’t be, but it is.”

Mary gave him a watery smile.

“I know it is. But that’s ok,” she whispered. “It’s ok to miss me sometimes.”

The door unlocked and opened and John’s head shot up, prompting him to sniff away a bit of moisture that had begun clouding his vision.

“Hey, Dad,” Rosie said with a smile as she shut the door behind her and set down her school bag. “Thought you weren’t going to be home till later.”

“Yeah well…” John hoisted himself up from the couch. “I wanted to do something sort of...important and special today. It’s a kind of gift- a message for you. I saved it for a long time, but I think you’re old enough now.”

Rosie kicked her shoes off and approached her father, her blue eyes curious as she tucked some light curls behind her ears. “What kind of message?”

John rocked on his heels for a second, taking a breath of courage first.

“It’s um, it’s all set up on the laptop in your bedroom. It’s for you so I’ll let you watch on your own. We can talk after of course- about whatever you’d like but um, I think this should be between just you and her first.”

From the look in Rosie’s eyes, she seemed to already have a guess despite her hesitant question.

“Her...who?”

John gave his beautiful daughter a small smile and answered as audibly as he could manage without his voice breaking.

“Your mother.”

* * *

 

Rosie came back down the hall about twenty minutes later, just as John had put the kettle on. She came over to him in the kitchen, sniffling and a bit red in the face. John immediately wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight and stroking her hair as she let out a few more tears.

“Shh, it’s ok, it’s ok,” he whispered, feeling like the worst father in the world now. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry if that was hard to see.”

But when Rosie pulled back and looked up at him, she was smiling.

“No, it’s ok, Dad,” she said, shaking her head and wiping her eyes. “It’s more than ok. That was...that was amazing. She was talking to me. Mum was talking to me!”

John smiled, his shoulders sagging in relief. “I’m so glad you liked seeing it. That one was left especially for you, so I knew one day it would have to be time.”

Rosie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Thank you for showing me. She was...she was so beautiful.”

“She certainly was,” John agreed wholeheartedly. “And you look just like her.”

He planted a kiss on her forehead and then smiled again. “So how bout some tea? And if there’s anything you want to talk about or ask me, I’m here and I’m happy to tell you whatever you want to know. Though, that message was from your mother to you, so if you’d rather keep it to yourself, I completely-”

“No, Dad, of course I want to tell you about it,” Rosie assured him while grabbing a couple mugs from the shelf. “It’s nothing secret.”

“Well then I’m happy to hear all about it,” he assured her.

“Y’know,” Rosie went on with a little laugh, “there was one thing that she mentioned and kind of seemed to know that really surprised me.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Because I thought that Uncle Sherlock and Aunt Molly didn’t start dating till I was close to two.”

John frowned. “Right, yeah about then.”

“Wow.” Rosie chuckled again. “So how did Mum already know that they were in love?”

A smile spread on John’s face as he slowly shook his head and laughed. “Of course she knew,” he muttered to himself, and then looked at his daughter to offer the very simple explanation.

“Just one of the many ways that she was better.”

 


End file.
